Paredes and Kvasnicka were All-Stars too

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Next Tuesday night when Jose Valverde and Lance Berkman take the field as all-stars at Chase Field in Arizona, two all-stars who replaced them in the Astros’ organization will be taking their swings in Lexington, Kentucky and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Berkman, 35 was traded in July 2010 for Mark Melancon, 26 (six saves, 3.23 ERA for the Astros) and Jimmy Paredes, 22. Paredes represented the Corpus Christi Hooks in the Texas League All-Star Game on June 29. For the season, Paredes, IF, is batting .269 with 24 stolen bases and 48 runs scored in 69 games.

When Valverde, 33, left the Astros after the 2010 season as a free agent, the club received two draft picks as compensation. One of those draft picks turned into Michael Kvasnicka, 22, who represented Lexington in last month’s South Atlantic League All-Star Game. Kvasnicka, 3B, is batting .273 with 19 doubles and 37 RBI 74 games into his first full professional season out of the University of Minnesota.

The other draft pick that the Astros received for Valverde was used to draft Michael Foltynewicz, 19. Foltynewicz, RHP was not an all-star but he has been gaining momentum as his first pro season progresses. He has a 4.43 ERA in 16 starts(85 1/3 IP) for Lexington.